Senior Vice President, Strategy Director

This role is open to be based from: New York, NY; Washington, DC

This role is based in NYC, however remote applicants in the Eastern or Central time zones are encouraged to apply.

Edelman is seeking an SVP, Strategy Director to lead strategy on behalf of one of America’s most recognizable, and beloved, brands.   We’re searching for an inspiring, rigorous, and empathetic strategy leader interested in shaping the future of marketing communications and working with clients within the retail sector, and developing a growing team.   With ideas such as purpose, empathy, transparency, and inclusion percolating in business discussions everywhere, now is an excellent time to consider a new angle in your career and for that angle to happen at Edelman. With a legacy in PR for over 60 years, Edelman is committed to transforming business for our clients by developing ideas that grab headlines, change minds, move culture, and earn trust.   In this role, you will drive strategy for a retail brand within a larger portfolio and play a key leadership role on the business. You will report to the EVP, Head of Strategy for the portfolio and retail sector, but also build strong and collaborative working relationships with strategy leadership globally.

Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic guidance to clients across product, master brand, and purpose initiatives.
• Hone the brand’s purpose strategy and deliver unmissable moments that create meaningful change in culture.
• Find new ways to earn admiration in fashion and lifestyle conversations to change minds and move consideration metrics.
• Ensure our ideas resonate with diverse, intersectional audiences, and approach all business and communications problems with inclusivity at the core.
• Help clients see human problems behind their business challenges, and set the path for how communications can solve the challenge(s) and drive brand growth.
• Create a strategy and creative brief that not only solves the business challenge but leads to ideas that capture media and consumers’ attention. In the process, you will guide research teams and junior support in turning observations and data into actionable strategy.
• Keep the work on brief and up to standards, as the creative and other teams build out the creative work, ensuring things like measurement and channel plans ladder back to the strategy.
• Understand and decipher campaign results, and find ways to optimize and continue to build campaigns and equity even after launch.
• Guide clients in yearly planning and goal setting, working with a team to deliver a strategic framework, narrative, and beyond to set the year up for success.
• Collaborate with agency team members from creative, account, production, technology, PR, strategy, planning, and analytics to produce smart, powerful work.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Manage 1-2 Planners and their work, and educate, guide, and develop their talent.
• Develop deep working relationships within our client’s marketing organization and among IAT partners.
• Proactively uncover new shifts in consumer behavior that can unlock a powerful creative response.
• Partner with the firm’s external marketing team on IP and product/framework development related to the retail sector.

Basic Qualifications:

• You have at least 10 years of relevant experience in marketing communications on behalf of leading brands, in-house or in an agency setting.
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 7+ years at top-tier PR, marketing, digital or advertising agency working as a highly creative (and effective) strategist
• A diverse array of experience within retail
• A deep understanding of how brands work, and what it takes to drive people to action, and ultimately generate cultural attention and change
• A portfolio of brilliant insights leading to effective consumer-facing campaigns
• Enthusiasm for driving creative ideas that push boundaries and shape culture
• Client-side experience and/or experience working with clients in an interagency dynamic
• A finger on the pulse of media, news, and trending topics